Canning Green Beans

16 years ago

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I had a wonderful aunt who I thought taught me how to can green beans. Unfortunaly she died a year ago last August. So this was my first season canning alone, I did everything she taught me to do banched them, pressured them, was careful not to move them till they "sealed"....everything. A couple days later I grabbed one from the top and the "sealed" lid came off (I'm positive they all popped). I checked several other jars and the same thing happened. There were 3 different batches that did this, my question is can any body give me an idea as to what happened?

I would really appreciate any ideas or comment on my little problem.

Thanks, Carey

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Comments (6)

readinglady
16 years ago
It would help if we know more about exactly what you did, including prep of jars and lids, how lids were attached, processing times, etc.

I know it's a pain to try to remember everything you did, but there are lots of ways things can go wrong and without more information, it's hard to tell exactly what the problem is.

Carol
ksrogers
16 years ago
Lids need to have the ring put on to help hold them in place until cooled. Beans need pressure canning, and no 'blanch' is necessary if they are pressure canned. You just can't 'blanch' then place in jars and cap them as that is totally unsafe. Maybe Auntie did it her way, which may have been done by her mother that way too. But under todays home canning guidelines, these old methods are considered unsafe due to the low acid food. They could either be blanched for freezing, or packed in jars and pressure canned. When lids fall off, they have no vacuum behind them to keep them pulled into the seal of the jars. The lids should be new, and warmed in simmering water prior to placing them on the hot jars.
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readinglady
16 years ago
I believe the poster did mention pressure canning, and hot pack (pre-cooking) is one of the acceptable options for green beans.

Carol
shirleywny5
16 years ago
I always blanch beans before canning and skip the ice water dip. The beans pack better that way. Also, I never boil the lids. I just rinse then under hot water. With 700 jars of assorted items canned last year, not one has unsealed in storage.
gran2
15 years ago
I wonder if the problem isn't the lids. New lids are designed to just warm in water and not boil the way the olds ones did. I talked to a lady who had a similar problem and she said how she was so careful about this and that and boiled those lids for at least 15 minutes. Well, I figure she just boiled the rubber right off them! Could be?
ksrogers
15 years ago
Rubber on lids was just that, until silicone rubber compounds took their place about 20-25 years ago. The lids do hold up better to extreme heat now. I still place my lids in lightly simmering water, and have not had a failure in quite a long time. An elderly lady friend left me some boxes of pectin and some canning lids, along with some commercial jars, that look similar to canning jars. The pectin is out of date, the lids are very old (maybe 15 or more years), and the assorted jars.. Maybe I will try a few of the jars, but will definatly choose ones that have some thickness to the glass.